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St Mary's, GA, United States
Weekly bulletin. Church Office Phone: (912) 882-5800

Friday, March 28, 2008

A SUCCESSFUL MEETING

Our gospel meeting with Allen Webster concluded Wednesday evening. I hope you enjoyed this meeting and profited from it as much as I did. As I look back on these four days, I believe we can call it a success for several reasons.

The fellowship enjoyed. Most of us have never met Allen or his family before. We have read his writings, perhaps seen his picture, but what a pleasure it was to meet him face to face. It was a great joy to get to know him, Melissa and three of their children. We also had an opportunity to eat a meal together. As the fellowship groups prepared meals each night, we were able to visit with one another as well as with the Websters. Finally, there was the opportunity to fellowship with the visitors to our services. We had some visit from the community, and a good number of visitors from other congregations. What a joy to share such great fellowship with one another.

The attendance. We had wonderful attendance with over 80 for each service and a high of 126 Sunday morning. As stated earlier, we had visitors from the community and area congregations. However, the greatest number was from our own members. I have been associated with meetings where the visitors outnumbered the members. You are to be commended for your faithful attendance as many were here for every service.

The participation. Our song leaders did a wonderful job, but so did the followers. The singing was excellent and perhaps a preview of what we will enjoy in heaven. The worship was offered to God in sprit and truth. You could tell people were listening to the lesson by the rustling pages as you turned to various passages of scripture. For effective communication, and preaching is communication, to take place, there must be a speaker. However, there must also be someone receiving the message and you were doing that very well.

The preaching. Allen did an excellent job in proclaiming the word of God and reminding us why evangelism is so important. I told some Wednesday evening that the way he was preaching I would rather listen to him too. Every lesson was well prepared and presented. I believe we will see the benefits of the lessons well into the future.

The response. There were four public responses asking for the prayers of the church, for which we are thankful. I do not believe those were the only responses. I believe many of us responded within ourselves to be better Christians and better evangelists. Some who are not yet Christians may have responded by a private commitment to study and see what they need to do. God says, “So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return to Me void, But it shall accomplish what I please, And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it” (Isaiah 55:11). The word of God was preached; therefore, we know some good was accomplished.

Thank you for your part in making our meeting a success.
--Lamar

Friday, March 21, 2008

THE TIME HAS ARRIVED

The time has arrived for our gospel meeting. We are excited to have Allen Webster and his family with us this week. Allen preaches for the Jacksonville church of Christ in Jacksonville, Alabama. He and His wife, Lois, have four sons. He is also the editor of “House To House, Heart To Heart,” the bi-monthly paper mailed out by congregations throughout the United States and in several foreign countries. The circulation has surpassed that of the Wall Street Journal and USA Today. It is a well-designed publication that is being used very effectively by churches to reach their communities with the gospel. Allen has also written a large number of tracts that are used in connection with House To House. The focus of his lessons will be on evangelism and motivating us to be better evangelists. I am confident he has prepared well and will present lessons that are Bible based, encouraging, and effective.

There are some things we can do as well to make this week a success. If you have waited until now to start you are running behind, but you can still help. First of all, you can pray. “Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much” (James 5:16). It was true then and it is still true now. We can pray for Allen as he presents his lessons. We can pray for ourselves that we will be attentive and apply the lessons. We can pray for those we invite to attend the services. Pray, pray, pray.

Second, you can attend. There was a time when you could fill a building during a gospel meeting. I believe it can still be done. One congregation with an average attendance of about 50 had over 180 one night during a gospel meeting, and this was just a few years ago. However, it all begins with us. If we do not attend and support the meeting, how can we expect others to do so? Some congregations are questioning the effectiveness of gospel meetings and I believe one of the reasons is that the members do not attend.

Third, you can invite. “I was glad when they said to me, ‘Let us go into the house of the Lord’” (Psalm 122:1). We often quote this verse to speak of David’s attitude, but there is also the fact that there were those inviting him, encouraging him to enter the house of the Lord. While the theme of this meeting is evangelism and is geared toward strengthening the church, it is still a good time to invite your relatives and neighbors. They will have an opportunity to hear God’s word preached and that is always a good thing. Some may say, “They won’t come if I ask them.” That may be true. However, I can almost guarantee you they will not come if you do not ask them.

Finally, you can participate. Do not come just to fill your seat, just so you can say you attended. Be involved in what is going on. Worship God in spirit and in truth (John 4:24). Sing and pray with the spirit and the understanding (1 Corinthians 14:15). Listen attentively to the lessons, take notes, and go out and apply what you have learned.

This can be an effective gospel meeting. I am confident Allen will do his part. Will we?
--Lamar

Friday, March 14, 2008

A NEW BIRTH

This morning (Thursday), Wanda and I were driving out to Kent and Lori’s house. A few blocks from their house we noticed some of the bushes in bloom. I have a hard time telling one flower, bush or tree from another. However, I do know one thing about the blooms on these bushes: they were beautiful. If you had driven by there only a short time ago, you would not have labeled them as beautiful. The bushes were brown and drab. There were no blooms. They appeared to be dead, lifeless. Now, with the coming of spring they have been reborn. This is true of much of nature. The trees are budding, the birds are singing, the grass is growing (uh oh get the lawn mower ready). This is probably my favorite time of year (other than the previously mentioned lawn mower).

Jesus talks of man undergoing a new birth. Jesus answered and said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”5 Jesus answered, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God” (John 3:3, 5). Nicodemus did not understand. He asked if a man was to re-enter his mother’s womb and be born again. Jesus explains that it is a spiritual birth. As those trees and bushes are lifeless during the winter, but bud with new life in the spring, man’s spirit which was dead in sin is cleansed and made alive by the new birth (Ephesians 2:1).

As we experience the new birth through baptism, we become a new person. Paul says, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new” (2 Corinthians 5:17). Just as a newborn baby is a new person, so it is with one who is born again. A life changing experience has taken place. The sins of the old man have been forgiven. The desires, purposes, and goals of the old life have changed. Paul writes in Romans 12:2 of Christians being transformed. The word in the original Greek is the word from which we get metamorphosis. This is the process a caterpillar goes through to become a butterfly. It is a radical change. Paul says when we become Christians we are to undergo such a change in our nature and in our lives.

When we experience the new birth, we also achieve a new hope. In Ephesians 2:12, Paul writes of those who are without Christ as being without hope. He then goes on in verse 13 to say, “But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.” In 1 Corinthians 6:9-11, Paul gives a list of the type of people who will not enter heaven. Fornicators, idolaters, covetous, and drunkards are among those listed. He then says that some of them had been included in these in the past, but now they were washed, sanctified, and justified in the name of the Lord Jesus. They were among those who had no hope of entering the kingdom of God, but through the new birth in Christ they were cleansed and had laid hold of the promises of God.

The new birth is not some strange, mysterious, unknowable feeling we experience. It is simply believing the gospel and obeying it fully and completely. It is the only way of receiving the forgiveness of sin and the promises of our Father.
--Lamar

Friday, March 7, 2008

IT NEEDS TO BE SHARED

Several years ago, Mercedes-Benz developed a new energy-absorbing construction for their cars which would save lives. The company held the patent on the design, but competitors were allowed to use it. Mercedes-Benz did not enforce its claim. When asked about it, a company spokesman said, “Because some things in life are too important not to share.” Imagine if someone found a cure for cancer and kept silent about it. The masses would cry out in unison, “That’s not right.”

In 2 Kings 7, we read an amazing story. The Syrian army had surrounded Samaria and it seemed there was no hope. However, the Lord intervened and they armies left (verse 6). Four lepers decided it would be better to die at the hands of the Syrians than to starve. They went to the enemy’s camp to surrender, but were surprised to find it deserted. The Syrians had fled in fear of their lives and left everything behind (verse 7). The four men stuffed themselves with food and took of the treasures and hid them. However, they soon realized something. Then they said to one another, “We are not doing right. This day is a day of good news, and we remain silent. If we wait until morning light, some punishment will come upon us. Now therefore, come, let us go and tell the king’s household” (2 Kings 7:9). It would be wrong to keep such good news a secret. They went and told the king what they found and the people were saved.

We have good news today. All have sinned (Romans 3:23), and the result of that sin is separation from God (Isaiah 59:1-2). If we remain in such a condition, eternal death will result (Romans 6:23). However, we do not have to remain in sin. Jesus came from heaven to live and die as a man, as the perfect sacrifice for our sins. If we will obey His will, His blood will cleanse us from all sin. Every person can be forgiven.

Those of us who are Christians know this and have done it. Through our obedience to the gospel, we are forgiven. The question is, “What are we doing about those who are still lost?” Mercedes-Benz thought saving physical lives was important enough to share good news. The four lepers thought avoiding starvation was important enough to share good news. How much more important is saving spiritual lives? How much greater is the task of avoiding spiritual starvation? With the gospel, we have the most important news available to man. It tells him how to receive forgiveness and eternal life. We have the responsibility to share it with them (Romans 10:13-14). In fact, the apostle Paul wrote, “For if I preach the gospel, I have nothing to boast of, for necessity is laid upon me; yes, woe is me if I do not preach the gospel!” (1 Corinthians 9:16).

We have many opportunities to share the gospel with those around us. In the near future we will have two special opportunities. Allen Webster will be with us March 23-26 and Sam Long is coming May 4-7. These are opportunities for us to invite people to hear the gospel. Good news should not be kept secret, it needs to be shared.
--Lamar